Flutterby

...during last weekend's scorching heat wave, this amazing--and huge--Monarch butterfly perched on a leaf near where Nick and I were sitting in his backyard.  The markings are just beautiful in their intricacy and design. What wonders there are in our world, peeps...

Wilderness

...I've badly neglected my photo blog of late--it's been a tough few months--but now, with Summer here, there will be more to photograph and I'll have more time to take the shots...at least in theory.

In the early evening last night whilst out on the front deck, I watched this handsome blue jay land in a tree next to my driveway and survey his domain.  The mountains in the distance look smoky in the heat haze...

Irresistable

...if I was a bee, this beautiful flower would draw me like a hot fudge sundae with extra whipped cream and a big fat cherry on top.  Luscious and mouth-watering and totally alluring: wild Iris growing on the hillside across the road from my house...

First Flower

...it's been over two months since I've posted anything.  The weather has been foggy for most of that time which, for the most part, makes for a very blank canvas.  This morning, however, I found a bright spot of color just emerging from the drab...

Visions

...in the woods next to my house, there's a swing.  It's been hanging in one of the huge oak trees for so long the rope tying the swing to the limb has become one with the tree. In the fog of a dreary Sunday, I saw several things in this shot: a scary book cover; lost childhood; forgotten dreams; poignancy in the passage of time...

Dew

...one of the last roses blooming in the Veterans Rose Garden at the VA complex. The boys and I were wandering through in the early morning yesterday, dew still heavy on the grass, and sprinkled like tiny diamonds across this beautiful rose...

'Shrooms

...while out watering the backyard today, I found a family of mushrooms have begun to sprout under the shade of a large fern.  It made me smile, they looked so much like a family on an adventure, the large one leading while the little ones tag along behind...

Autumn Morning

...when I opened the blinds this morning, the sun was just beginning to touch the valley. I love how the house in the center--surrounded by mist--appears fortress-like, an island adrift in ethereal seas.

Last Glimpse

...as the flowers begin to fade, I find myself savoring the final blooms.  Soon will come the quiet season when all is monochrome and vivid colors are just a memory.  This last stalk of Foxglove is going out in style...

Web Of Rainbows

...chatting in the backyard of my sister's place the night before leaving on my holiday, I caught the glint of color out of the corner of my eye as she watered the garden. The web might have been a bit tattered, but the beautiful iridescence made up for it, gleaming in the early evening light...

Halfway

...there's a Supermoon due on August 10th, the penultimate for the year.  Last night the half moon glowed in the night sky as a teaser for coming attractions. I took this shot as--almost without fail--every single time there's a celestial event that I want to photograph, the clouds roll in.  I decided half was better than none...

Last Hurrah...

...I've already shown this photo in a post I wrote yesterday on my other blog, but it's such a beautiful sunset--and grand finale to the month of July--it definitely had to be the shot of the week...

In The Ditch

...near the soccer fields where I walk the dogs, there is a deep ditch that runs along the back edge of the parking area.  Somehow, all on their own, these beauties have popped up amongst the weeds and rocks to brighten an otherwise meaningless space...

A Weed By Any Other Name

...would be the much maligned dandelion.  Thirty million years old (yes, really), it's been used in herbal medicine for centuries; the greens--loaded with nutrients--can be eaten in salads and soups; dandelion wine is surprisingly tasty...and yet this plant is generally considered to be a noxious weed.  This morning, walking through my back garden, bright yellow dandelion flowers buzzing with bees, I couldn't help admiring the resilience in this humble little plant, or the delicate beauty in the seeds...

Busy Bee

...walking back from the mailbox just now--the air heavy and humid, dogs panting, me sweating--I heard the hum of bumblebees in the lavender plants that edge the stone wall in the front yard.  I gave the boys their cookies, then went back out into the inferno to see if I could capture a closeup as I'm still experimenting with the new lens. Caught this guy in mid-flight...

Southern Belle

...yesterday I took an unfamiliar shortcut to get myself home from an arts festival before the looming storm broke.  The weather was feverishly hot with large, very black clouds slowly building over the mountains, so when the precursor winds kicked in, I decided it was time to go--along with many other folks, hence the shortcut idea.  The little back road didn't get me home faster, but I did discover the most amazing magnolia tree with the biggest, creamiest blossoms--the size of a salad plate--that just compelled me to stop and take this shot.  Ah, the siren call of flowers...

Wild Blue

...a few months ago maintenance crews arrived at the park where I usually walk the dogs to resurface sidewalks and put in a new paved parking area. Sadly, they also removed two very large, wonderful trees.  I'm not clear why; where they once stood had nothing to do with the project and now the space is just a forlorn heap of trunks, broken branches and tangled roots.  A most ignoble burial ground. But then. Today I discovered several clusters of tall, delicate wildflowers growing amongst the debris. Nature. In the midst of chaos, life somehow finds a way...

Not Gonna Fit

...I haven't posted a photograph for the past two weeks, mainly because I haven't been inspired.  Until this morning.  While making the bed, the bluejays were making such an unholy racket in the backyard I went to the window to see what was going on. And was startled to see a hawk standing in the middle of the bird bath!  The jays take morning baths and were outraged at the hawk in their tub.  I grabbed my camera, but had to hide behind the bed and shoot through the window screen--hence the really crappy photo. Still.  It's a hawk in the bird bath. (For perspective, the bath is 18" wide and this guy pretty much filled the space...)

Cream and Sugar

  ...along one wall of the pottery studio near the soccer field where I walk the dogs is a row of white roses that I have never noticed before.  Today the pure white glow of these blooms caught my eye, although when I went closer to take a photo, I realized the roses were actually creamy yellow at the centers with spun sugar outer petals.  So unexpectedly beautiful...

Skylight Moon

...last night in the wee hours, I rolled over in bed...and suddenly came wide awake as I caught a bright glow coming from the living room.  Had I left a light on?  I was pretty sure it had been dark when I'd switched off my bedside lamp. I discovered moonbeams shining through one of the skylights, like a beacon in the velvet night...